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Yordenis Ugas Posts Photo of Eye Injury, Says It Was Bleeding for 'Almost 40 Hours'
April 23, 2022
Cuban boxer Yordenis Ugas posted a picture Friday night to detail the eye injury he's dealt with since last weekend's loss to Errol Spence Jr.
Ugas wrote his right eye was bleeding for nearly two days before showing improvement:
Yordenis Ugas @YordenisUgasto know exactly the next step. I think I was in a competitive fight until the 7th. I fought three more rounds with my eye like this, I'm a warrior and no matter the pain, no matter how hard Spence hit me, I would never, ever give up. Thank you all. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpenceUgas?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpenceUgas</a>
The 2008 Olympic bronze medalist defeated the legendary Manny Pacquiao to win the WBA super welterweight title in August 2021, but he was no match for Spence at AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Spence, the WBC and IBF welterweight champ, held a massive advantage in punches thrown (216-96) and also connected at a much higher rate (27.6% to 17.7%) en route to the 10th-round TKO, according to CompuBox.
Ugas did appear to have Spence in trouble in the sixth round, but the referee paused the fight as Spence's mouthguard had come out during the action. From that point, Spence dominated.
The 35-year-old Cuban credited his 32-year-old American counterpart after the fight before being transported to a local hospital for examination of the right eye, per ESPN's Mike Coppinger.
"I feel sad; I trained really hard for this fight," Ugas said. "All my respect to Errol Spence. He's a great champion. ... The referee stopped the fight, but I wanted to keep going to the end. I definitely had a chance to win the fight in the sixth round, but he recuperated well."
Spence improved his undefeated record to 28-0 with the win, while Ugas dropped to 27-5.
On Friday, the Ugas told Jake Donovan of Boxing Scene doctors don't believe he'll need surgery on the eye despite a fractured orbital bone, and he's already planning a possible return against Keith Thurman.
"I just want to be in the biggest fights possible, against the biggest names in the sport," Ugas said. "Keith Thurman is one of the best fighters of our era, and I think a fight with him would be one the fans would enjoy. We are both warriors and bring a lot of excitement to the ring."
While that'd be an intriguing encounter, Thurman (30-1) has said he's aiming for a fight against WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
If that bout comes to fruition, Ugas will have to look elsewhere in the crowded welterweight division for his next opponent.